M2K New Warriors
by Marvel2000Fanfic
Summary: This new and different iteration of the New Warriors sees Franklin Richards daring to strive for something...fantastic. Check out our site to learn more and to discover other issues and series!
1. Chapter 1

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Several dimensions removed from the one we know is a world inhabited by a species of highly intelligent creatures. Beings who have made advancements that human beings could never dream of, such as cures for diseases like cancer, ways to decrease pollution, and a zero tolerance policy for reality TV stars.

A race of creatures who just happen to look like giant animal cookies. Lions, tigers, bears, and other sentient creatures composed of graham cracker went about their daily business, living their normal lives, going to their jobs, and driving around in cardboard boxes shaped like circus cars.

That is, until today, when a flash of light appeared in the middle of a city. When the light subsided, three cloaked figures stood in a smoking crater. One was dressed in a red cloak, one in yellow, and the third in blue, all three holding large staffs. Their faces were obscured by darkness as they stepped out of the crater and looked around.

"Another world, brothers," the leader, A, said. "Another world that needs to be cleaned."

B, the middle brother, stepped forward. "I can sense it, as well. This world is undeserving of life. Such wasted potential, and crumbs everywhere."

"It does make me hungry, though," the youngest brother, C, spoke up. "Perhaps after this we can return to that lovely dimension of talking shrimp for brunch."

"Brunch? Mind your tongue, brother," A said as he stared at the creatures. "It is lunchtime, so we shall eat _lunch_. But first, the matter at hand." The three brothers joined their staffs together, each with a colored ruby that matched their cloaks floating above each one. "Use your imaginations, brothers, and make it good. A fitting end to such a world as this."

A fiery red light shot up into the sky, turning the sky dark as the creatures started running around in a panic. Soon, white droplets started falling onto the creatures, each drop feeling like acid on the cookie-based lifeforms.

"Perhaps we should take higher ground," B said as the brothers started floating into the air, just as tidal waves of milk crashed through the city. All over the planet, the same fate was befalling every creature on the planet, until the entire planet had been drowned in milk, drenching the cookie creatures.

"Should we leave the place like this? The milk will surely spoil and make an unpleasant odor," C said as the brothers began to depart.

"Once we leave this dimension, our work will fade, leaving only the remnants of what was," A reminded him. "After we have recharged, we shall find a new planet to pass judgement on. Perhaps one that will be more challenging."

* * *

 **New Warriors #1**

 **"Playing Hero"**

 **Written by Tobias Christopher**

* * *

 _New York_

 _Home to the Fantastic 4_

 _and Spider-Man_

 _and the Avengers_

 _and the Punisher_

 _and... that's a lot of heroes running around New York, isn't it?_

 _My name is Franklin Richards. My dad is Mr. Fantastic; my mom is the Invisible Woman. My uncles are the Human Torch and the Thing. But me? I'm just a mostly powerless fifteen year old kid, thanks to a psychic inhibitor my dad put in my head when I was younger. It was meant to keep my powers in check so I wouldn't destroy reality or something. I still have some powers, just not enough to make a difference or stand out among people who can turn themselves into ice, control the weather, or talk to squirrels._

 _Some day, that's going to change. I'm going to be a great hero, and not just the son of one. I just have to find a way to stand out among the big guys. But we all have to start our heroic journeys somewhere. Mine begins here..._

Franklin was standing on a rooftop early that morning, using a pair of binoculars to look out over the city. He was wearing one of Johnny Storm's old Fantastic 4 costumes, a black and blue suit with the 4 logo removed. His hair was blonde and shaggy, and constantly kept falling into his eyes. He brushed it back and continued to look out for danger, which wasn't too far away.

The police scanner alerted him to a pair of bank robbers headed his way. He rushed down the fire escape to reach his pride and joy: the old Spider-Mobile that he'd found in the junkyard. After a lot of hard work to get it running again, and a paint job to make it match his costume, it was ready for action. The bank robbers sped past just as Franklin's small car zoomed out of the alley after them.

"Hey, Donnie, you ain't gonna believe this," the second bank robber, Mark, said as he looked in the rearview mirror. "We're being tailed by... I don't know what we're being tailed by."

"We'll lose him," Donnie said as started swerving through traffic. "No one's catching us today!"

Franklin saw what they were doing and swerved to keep up. "Want to play rough, huh?" he asked as he flipped a switch on the panel to activate one of the new features that was designed for the car. The front bumper became magnetized, pulling him closer to the robber's vehicle.

"He's catching up!" Mark shouted as Donnie rolled down his window and started shooting.

"Uh-oh," Franklin said as he pushed another button, sending a bullet proof shield up, repelling most of the bullets back towards the robber's car. One of them struck the tires as the car hit the curb and started flying through the air. "Okay, this could be bad."

Franklin pushed a button, shooting a large webbing past the robber's car and between two trees, catching it before it could hit the ground.

"Yes!" Franklin shouted as his car came to a stop and jumped out of the car to make sure no one was hurt. "Another crime thwarted by Franklin Richards! Wow, I really need a code name."

"FRANKLIN BENJAMIN RICHARDS!" a voice shouted from not too far away.

"Oh, crap," Franklin said as he looked down at his arm, seeing it had been grazed by one of the stray bullets. A small trickle of blood was flowing down his arm. "Oh, crap!"

Franklin ran back to his car, and right into the floating robot named H.E.R.B.I.E.

"I know you didn't sneak out of the apartment to go out crime fighting, because otherwise I'm going to have to go all Max Von Sydow on you, tie to you a bed, and perform an exorcism on you, because demonic possession will be the only excuse I buy for you sneaking out!" the robot said as he saw the grazed bullet wound on Franklin's arm. "Oh. My. God. Your mother is going to have your father build me a pair of robotic testicles just so she can rip them off of me when she sees that."

"It's just a scratch," Franklin said as he put his hand over his arm, ignoring how much it hurt. "A little iodine and a band-aid, it'll be fine."

"Your arm, yes? Your butt, not so much, because a lawnmower named H.E.R.B.I.E. is about to turn it into mulch!" H.E.R.B.I.E. said as Franklin started walking away. The robot floated after him. "As your nanny-"

"Parental appointed protector," Franklin reminded him as he got into his car.

"Whatever you want to call it, my job is to keep you out of trouble, which I'm obviously doing a top-notch job of considering you're coming home all sliced up," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he saw the black and white car sitting in the grass. "Is this thing even road safe? Where did you get it? You don't even have a license!"

"It's Spider-Man's old car. I found it and fixed it up with Uncle Johnny," Franklin told him. "It's completely road safe and…" Franklin paused as he stopped to look at the robot. "Why don't you go bother my sister? She needs a protector more than I do."

"Your family had to leave on an interdimensional mission of peace," H.E.R.B.I.E. told him. "There was a war about to break out between a guild and a league somewhere; they took your sister with them. Apparently there's a plan for her to infiltrate a Lullaby League before they can pull of some kind of assassination. It gives us just enough time to fix that cut before anyone sees."

"They went on a mission without me?" Franklin asked, trying not to sound hurt.

"I had to cover for you and say you went to the corner store to get some Pez," H.E.R.B.I.E. said. "There was no time to wait for you to get back. Munchkin blood was about to be spilled."

"Pez?" Franklin asked.

"I don't know what junk foods you kids like to put in your body these days, so I just winged it," the robot said. "Now come on, we're going home before that wound gets infected."

"Fine, but then I'm going out again," Franklin said as they drove home. "If my family can go out and have fun without me, then I'm going to have fun on my own."

"Over my dead battery," H.E.R.B.I.E. said.

"You can't stop me from being a hero," Franklin said as the car pulled into the Baxter Building's garage. He pulled into the parking space as H.E.R.B.I.E. turned his head slowly toward his charge. "Don't do that, it creeps me out."

Andy Maguire yawned as he got up out of his bed in Queens. He was 16 years-old, with short strawberry blonde hair, and a scrawny frame. He looked at his blurry vision in the mirror as he put his glasses on and started getting ready for the day. After showering, dressing, and eating breakfast he headed downstairs, hoping to catch his parents before they left for the day.

"Mom? Dad?" Andy asked, seeing they were already gone. He sighed, wishing just once they'd at least say goodbye, or at least acknowledge his existence. He soon headed out to start his daily routine of delivering newspapers. Grabbing his teal ball cap and placing it backwards on his head, Andy jumped onto his skateboard and headed toward the Daily Bugle.

Half an hour later, Andy was making his way down the streets of New York, newspapers in his backpack as he tossed them to their destinations, ducking and dodging the pedestrians when he wasn't weaving in and out of traffic to avoid the cars stuck in traffic.

"Slow down, Maguire!" the officer shouted as he saw Andy coming through. "You're gonna hurt someone!"

"Sorry, Officer Blojobski!" Andy shouted as he continued on his way.

"That's Blokowski!" the officer shouted, but Andy was already out of sight. "Damn kid."

"Alright, Maguire, just one more paper to deliver," Andy said to himself as he stared up at the Baxter Building. "One paper to one large, scary rock monster. I can do this."

Andy headed to the elevator and saw that it was out of order. "Really? What was it this time?"

"Johnny Storm set off a stink bomb while the Thing was coming down," the receptionist said. "We're still trying to renovate it."

Andy just sighed as he weighed the pros and cons of not taking the stairs and just saying he'd delivered the paper. Who was he more scared of: the Thing or Jonah Jameson? Andy just swallowed his fear and started climbing the first of 31 flights of stairs to reach his destination.

"Just cut my arm off. It's less painful," Franklin said as H.E.R.B.I.E. used his robotic arm to apply the iodine.

"After everything you've ever been through, THIS is what makes you cry?" the robot asked him.

"I'm not crying, it's just an observation," Franklin said as he turned and quickly wiped a tear before his parental appointed protector saw.

H.E.R.B.I.E. cleaned the wound and applied a Spider-Man band-aid. "I'm not kissing it, if that's what you're expecting. Now go get into your street clothes while I check out the lab. I'm getting some strange vibrations from your father's equipment."

"Ew, don't say it like that," Franklin said as he got off the table.

Franklin headed to his bedroom and changed into a blue and white baseball jersey, blue jeans, and sneakers as he heard the doorbell ring. He opened the door and found Andy on the other side, tired and out of breath.

"Paper... for Ben Grimm," Andy said as he leaned against the door frame, too tired to move.

"Uncle Ben's not here; he's off fighting evil in another dimension," Franklin said as he took the paper. "You going to be okay?"

"Climbed... 30 flights... of stairs," Andy said in between breaths. "Elevator... out... or order."

"You know there are four elevators in this building, right?" Franklin asked with a raised eyebrow as Andy nearly passed out. As he looked down at the paperboy, Franklin suddenly realized something. "Who has papers delivered anymore? Don't we have online news now?"

Franklin returned to the living room with a glass of water for Andy, who was sitting on the couch. Andy took the water and chugged it down without taking a pause.

"You know, Uncle Ben's a really nice guy. I don't know why you're afraid of him," Franklin said as he sat down on the couch. "He always wonders why you take off running when he opens the door. He's like a big ol' teddy bear."

"He's a two-ton rock monster who can tear me apart like a phone book," Andy said as he set the glass down.

"What's a phone book?" Franklin asked.

"Thanks for the water, Frankie," Andy said as he stood up.

"Franklin," the younger man reminded him.

"Yeah, sure, Frankie, I gotta get back to the Bugle and get my paycheck. Got big plans for tonight, hot date and all," Andy lied as he picked up his skateboard.

"Uh-huh," Franklin said as he got off the couch and followed him the door. "I'll tell Uncle Ben not to be so... rock-like next time you bring the paper."

"Franklin, we've got problems!" H.E.R.B.I.E. shouted as he rushed into the room. "Big, big problems!"

"Is that a floating robot?" Andy asked as he looked at Franklin's parental appointed protector, running a hand over him. "Cool."

"Franklin, why is there a strange kid having his way with me?" H.E.R.B.I.E. asked. "Kick him to the curb and let's roll, there's something in the lab you need to see."

Franklin looked between the two and smirked. "Actually, my new friend Andy was just asking for a tour of the lab. Come on, new friend, let's go see the lab."

"But we're not-" Andy started to say as he was ushered toward the upstairs lab.

"Your father's been keeping a log of every dimension and zone that he's discovered," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he floated into the lab. "As you can imagine, there's quite a lot of them."

"Dozens?" Andy asked as he looked around, taking in the view.

"Thousands," H.E.R.B.I.E. replied as he floated toward the computer. "Recently he's been establishing contact with a dimension that can help him solve his equation for sliced whipped cream."

"That would be the greatest invention since sliced bread," Andy said. "It was so annoying having to take bites out of a whole loaf."

H.E.R.B.I.E. just stared at him for a few seconds while Andy just stared back. The dead silence continued for a solid five seconds.

"ANYWAY," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he pointed to the screen. "That world is dead. Zero life form readings. This morning there were billions of life forms on that world."

"Maybe they all went on vacation," Franklin said.

"Five billion sentient beings don't just go on vacation and leave their whole planet," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he brought up a new screen. "It's not just that world. Other worlds have started vanishing as well. Some have been cleared of life, others are just vanishing entirely. And it's happening in a straight line."

"And what's at the end of the line?" Andy asked as he looked at the monitor, seeing Earth. "Ohhhh."

"Mom and Dad will handle it when they get back," Franklin said as he made a slushee with one of his father's high-powered machines. "They always do."

"Except we don't know when they're coming back," H.E.R.B.I.E. told him. "That's not a slushee maker, how did you-"

"Valeria rewired it," Franklin said as he tossed one to Andy. "It only used to do really useless stuff like solving world hunger."

"We need to call the Avengers, or the Defenders, or Howard the Duck, someone capable to getting to the bottom of this," H.E.R.B.I.E. said.

"Oh, sure, I'll just call up Iron Man on speed dial," Franklin sarcastically said as H.E.R.B.I.E. handed him the phone, then slowly getting really close to Franklin's ear.

"It's #3," H.E.R.B.I.E. whispered.

 _45 Minutes Later_

"Seriously? Every hero in New York is too busy to look into this?" Andy asked as he sat on the counter.

"Yeah, apparently inter-dimensional travel is something no hero wants to do," Franklin replied as he leaned back against the wall. "Punisher said he'd do it, but I couldn't make the promise that he could kill something."

"What about that Dr. Strange dude?" Andy asked.

"Couldn't reach him, he's having one of those astral projection deals," Franklin said as he closed his eyes to think. "And Wong was too busy drawing a moustache on him to help me reach his astral form."

"Then we're out of luck until your family gets back," Andy said as he looked at his watch. "And I really need to get going. That hot date and all. Good luck on finding-"

"I'll do it," Franklin said as he opened his eyes, cutting Andy off. "I'll go check out what's making these worlds vanish."

H.E.R.B.I.E. started laughing, then just as quickly stopped. "No."

"I'm not going to confront whatever it is if it's dangerous. I'll just see what's happening then come right back," Franklin said. "We don't have time. Whatever's coming could be intending to kill everyone on the planet."

"Come right back? This isn't a trip to the corner store to get your precious Pez," H.E.R.B.I.E. told him. "This is interdimensional travel! If something goes wrong, you could be lost!"

"He's right, Frankie," Andy said as he finished his slushee.

"Thank you-" H.E.R.B.I.E. said.

"You should take some people with you to back you up," Andy continued as he took one last annoying slurp through the straw. "Get a group together. Safety in numbers."

"-for being a complete idiot," H.E.R.B.I.E. finished.

"But every hero is busy, where do I find a team?" Franklin asked as he looked between Andy and H.E.R.B.I.E., getting a devilish grin.

Andy and H.E.R.B.I.E. just looked at each other, before saying in unison "HELL NO!"

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

 _ **Hey, readers and writers of M2K, it's me, Tobias Christopher (it better be, I'm using his computer). I hope you enjoyed the first issue of New Warriors and want to thank everyone at M2K for giving me a shot at writing this title.**_

 _ **A few things:**_

 _ **\- I know this isn't the traditional New Warriors line-up, but I felt that the team members I'm working with here will offer fresh interactions and a fun ride throughout the Marvel Universe. I'm going to try to make this series as fun as I can. Yes, there will be dark moments, but I hope to keep this title one of the fun books of M2K.**_

 _ **\- Yes, once again Franklin is aged up to a teenager. Poor kid must feel like a yo-yo by now. I love the character of Franklin and felt that he needed to be slightly older to be more a functioning member of a team he's putting together.**_

 _ **\- I'm aware of people's feelings for Mr. Maguire, but I hope that as time goes on, people see that the M2K version of Andy Maguire will be a far cry from what we've seen in the Marvel Universe at this point.**_

 _ **I hope everyone comes back for #2 because I had a lot of fun writing this issue and hope to keep writing this title into the far future!**_

 _ **\- Tobias Christopher**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Franklin Richards, son of Reed and Sue Richards, has finally decided he wants to follow in the family footsteps and become a hero in his own right. Even though H.E.R.B.I.E., his nanny, er… parental appointed protector, objects to Franklin going out into the world to begin his career as a hero._

 _Meanwhile, several dimensions away, a trio of powerful brothers has started destroying life everywhere they find it. And now they're making their way towards Earth. With every other hero in the city of New York too busy to deal with the situation, Franklin has decided to gather a group of heroes on his own to find out what's coming, and if it can be stopped before it's too late._

* * *

#2 "MAN VS MACHINE"

Written by Tobias Christopher

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"Let's see. I'm going to need this. And this, and this. I might need this," Franklin said as he started tossing emergency supplies into a backpack. Dehydrated food packets, first aid kits, flashlights, a pocket knife, and some objects that he didn't know what they were, but thought they looked cool. "Should I bring toilet paper? I don't want to end up on a world that doesn't have toilet paper."

As the teenager walked around the lab, tossing stuff into the bag, his parental appointed protector, H.E.R.B.I.E., followed behind. The robot grabbed the stuff out of the backpack as quickly as it was put in, putting it back where it came from.

"If you think I am going to allow you to go traipsing around the multi-verse, you're crazier than your parents the time they let Wolverine join the team," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he floated around the room, trying to stop Franklin.

"Yeah, I'll never forget the epic battle between Yoshi and Wolverine that nearly destroyed the whole building." Franklin sighed as he remembered the most epic fight that anyone in New York had ever seen. After a long pause of Franklin staring in nothingness while remembering that fight, he continued roaming the room. "But yeah, I am going. With or without you guys."

"Come on, Frankie, we don't even have any powers to defend ourselves," Andy Maguire said as he sat on the table, eating an apple. "How are we supposed to survive in a place that's probably dominated by super-beings on a planet that's about to be wiped out? What are we supposed to do, help them build a rocket ship to launch the sole surviving baby to another planet so it can grow up and become protector of a whole new world, like in that movie, what was it called? Oh, yeah, Coneheads."

"Like you said, strength in numbers," Franklin told him. "We just need to find a few more people willing to go with us. Some people who are strong enough to put up a fight if it comes down to it."

"You know, I think I might just know a guy," Andy said as he finished his apple.

"What part of 'no one is going' is neither of you getting?" H.E.R.B.I.E. asked. "No one is going anywhere and-" The sliding doors to the lab were already shutting, Andy and Franklin having departed seconds earlier. "The Richards could have had a puppy. Johnny suggested a puppy over having a kid. A puppy would have been much easier to handle. I wonder if that mutation ray is still lying around. I could turn Franklin into a cute little golden retriever. My artificial life would be so much easier."

"Dude, why is your robot such a dork?" Andy asked as he headed to the stairwell. Franklin grabbed him by the collar and dragged him toward the elevator down the hall.

"You know how they say you're not supposed to eat Pop Rocks and drink cola at the same time?" Franklin asked as he pushed the button. "Well, you're not supposed to pour both into your robot's A.I. system, either. H.E.R.B.I.E. was never the same after that."

Franklin stared into nothingness to remember once again as Andy pulled him into the elevator.

In another world, the trio of cloaked brothers were standing on a planet now filled with the endless corpses of chibi versions of characters from every police procedural cop show ever made.

"All of this cuteness makes me sick," A said as he picked up the dying form of Dennis Franz. "This isn't imaginative, it's just sickeningly annoying. And this one keeps trying to show its posterior."

"Come, brothers, let us move forward," B said. "There are many more worlds that need to be cleansed."

C paused for a moment as he looked around. "Brothers, can you not feel it? Every time we destroy a world, something changes."

"Yes, we grow stronger in our power," B reminded him. "We feed on the imagination that these worlds have terribly squandered."

"Yes, but I feel as if we're headed toward... something powerful," C said. "It's as if we're being drawn somewhere."

"I can feel it, as well," A said as he tapped his staff onto the ground, creating a portal to a new world. "I didn't want to bring it up just yet, but…could it be possible we're being drawn towards... him?"

"Do not speak of such things, brother," B said. "He does not exist. He is merely a fairy tale, a thing of legend."

"You said the same thing when it was just the two of us, before we found our third brother," A reminded him as they stepped through the portal. "As powerful as we've become, surely a fourth entity has come into being."

"Then we shall keep going, and perhaps if he does exist, we will find him," B said. "Come, a new world awaits!"

"Alright, this guy's a little... weird," Andy said as he walked with Franklin down the street toward the gym. "But he's a good guy, really friendly, and most importantly he's pretty strong. He sticks up for all of us scrawny losers at school when we're being bullied. Okay, well, me. He's only ever had to stand up for me. But you get the idea."

Andy opened the door and found several people being tossed out of a wrestling ring. In the center stood a teenage boy in a black tank top and blue jean shorts, taking on all comers. He had shortcut light brown hair and a well-built physique that both Franklin and Andy couldn't help but admire.

"There is no way on God's green earth that he got that body naturally," Franklin whispered as they approached the ring, avoiding the full grown men who were being tossed out like they were rag dolls.

"Hey, Adam," Andy said as Adam looked around, realizing he was out of people to take him on. Adam Aaronson loved new challenges, and today's was seeing if anyone who beat him at wrestling. He was careful not to really hurt anyone as he tossed them out of the ring, only wanting a challenge and not to truly cause harm.

"Andy, right?" Adam asked as he approached them. Franklin noticed that he didn't have a drop of sweat on him, or even a hair out of place. "Glad you came by, I was hoping you'd start coming here to work on that scrawny frame."

"Scrawny?" Andy asked as his lip trembled.

"Look, Adam, we came because we need your help," Franklin said as he stood outside the ropes. "We're going on a trip and we need someone strong to have our backs."

"A trip, huh? Going somewhere rough?" Adam asked with a smile. "Going to walk down Yancy Street after dark?"

"Actually we're going to use my dad's interplanetary dimensional device and travel unexplored universes in an attempt to stop a rapidly approaching evil that wants to destroy our planet," Franklin said calmly.

"Wow," Adam said after a brief pause. "Was not expecting that response."

"So, are you in?" Andy asked.

"Okay, I admit, I'm curious. I'll listen to what you two are planning, but on one condition," Adam told them. "If you can take me down in the ring. Two against one, no holds barred. You two pin me, and I'm all yours. But if I beat the both of you, you both have to start training here so I can build you two bags of bones up. What do you say?"

"I say," Andy said as he ripped his shirt open like Hulk Hogan. "Let's do this!" Andy then realized he wasn't wearing a shirt underneath. "Oh, man, and I really liked that shirt."

"Okay, I guess if we have to do this," Franklin said, shaking his head at Andy as they climbed into the ring, seeing how scrawny his new friend really was. "Andy, buddy, you really do need to start hitting the gym."

Andy sheepishly covered his bare chest as the bell rang to start the match. Before they even knew what hit them, Adam had clotheslined the duo, knocking both onto their backs.

"Do we really need this guy?" Andy asked as he turned his head toward Franklin.

Adam was heading back toward his corner, and turned around just in time to see Andy swing Franklin around, launching the young man towards him, knocking Adam back onto his stool.

"Okay, I'll give you that one," Adam said as he stood up while Franklin lay on the ground, just as Andy used the ropes on the other side as a slingshot.

"JUMANJI!" Andy shouted as he launched himself at Adam while screaming, knocking him to the ground.

"Okay, guys, that's enough, I think that-" Adam started to say as Franklin elbow slammed Adam's chest, then realized how solid Adam's body was.

"OOWW!" Franklin said, holding his sore and reddened elbow.

Adam started to sit up as Andy grabbed the stool and smashed him in the back of the head.

"What the hell?" Adam asked as he turned around to look at Andy.

"They do it on WWE all the time, I thought it was a fake stool," Andy said. Adam stood up as Franklin jumped onto his back, trying to get him into a choke hold. Adam just ignored him as he grabbed Andy by the leg, turning him upside down and lifting him into the air. He then grabbed Franklin by the shirt and held both young men in front of him.

"Well, you're both determined, that's really admirable," Adam told them as Andy grabbed his leg and tried to pull him to the ground. "And you're not giving up despite the fact that I can clearly send both of your butts to the emergency room. I like that. No one's ever lasted in the ring against me this long. Gentlemen, you had my curiosity, now you have my attention."

"Ha, movie reference!" Andy shouted as Adam dropped them to the ground as he headed for the ropes to climb out.

"I'll change and meet you back here in a few minutes," Adam said as he climbed outside of the ropes in time for Andy to launch himself at his opponent again, flying out of the ring and onto the ground.

"You okay, Andy?" Franklin asked as he helped Andy up.

"Oh, look, there's Mr. Henshaw, I wonder where he's going. Perhaps to Holland," Andy said in a dazed voice before falling forward again. Franklin tried to catch him before he hit the ground face first.

In the changing room, Adam grabbed his clothes from his locker. After getting everything but his shirt on, Adam opened a small plate over the area where his heart should have been located, revealing wires and circuitry. He pulled out a small screwdriver and adjusted a few things.

"Those kids really packed quite a punch," Adam said to himself. "They almost knocked a few important wires loose."

"You okay, Adam" Franklin asked from outside the locker room door.

"Yeah, just finishing up," Adam said as he closed his chest plate and pulled on a t-shirt. "Be right out."

A few minutes later, the trio were exiting the gym as Andy buttoned up a spare shirt Adam had in his locker.

"Thanks for the shirt," Andy said as he finished the last button.

"No problem, kid," Adam told him. "Just don't go ripping that one to shreds, it's the only extra one I have. So, what, the three of us are just supposed to find whatever's destroying other worlds and just... tell it to stop? What's the game plan on this? Tell me we're not going in blind."

"Well, I was just figuring it to be a recon mission for now," Franklin said. "Just get the info on what's happening and bring it back. By then my dad and the others should be back."

"And if they're not? Or this thing wants to eat us?" Adam asked.

"I taste terrible," Andy said. "I licked some ketchup off my arm once after I'd sprayed a ton of Axe Body Spray on."

"Frank, I get why I'm going, but uh, why is Scrappy Doo here joining along? He might get hurt," Adam whispered.

"Because we're the only three guys who are willing," Franklin told him. "Unless you know of someone else who's up for traveling through space and time on a whim."

Adam stopped and stroked his chin as he thought about it. "Maybe I do. Plus he's good at building things. You could use a weapons guy on this, right?"

"Is he military?" Franklin asked.

"Why would his religion matter?" Andy asked as they continued down the street.

"Stupid intergalactic static," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he tried contacting the Fantastic Four as they were helping another world avoid a war. "Dr. Richards, is anyone there?"

"H.E.R.B.I.E.?" a voice finally said through the static. "Is that you, buddy?"

"Oh, God, it's Johnny. Anyone but the dumb blonde one," H.E.R.B.I.E. sighed. "Can you put Dr. Richards on? Or your sister? Or Ben? Or any inanimate object, really. I'll wait."

"Sorry, bud, all of them are busy," Johnny said. "What's going on? You remembered to tape the finale of Mad Men for me, right?"

"Look, Johnny, we have trouble and-"

"You DID remember to tape it for me, though?"

"Ugh," the robot said. "Yes, I remembered. Now can you just-"

"Oh! I almost forgot, Sue says that Franklin has to be in bed by 10," Johnny told him. "There's actually a whole list here that she didn't have time to go over with you, but this world kind of doesn't have toilet paper, so..."

"Johnny, would you just pipe down so I can-" H.E.R.B.I.E. said as more static started distorting Johnny's voice even further, until there was nothing but static filling the airwaves. "Johnny? I am so recording over your show if you don't answer me!"

Adam led Franklin and Andy to a nearby junkyard that was filled mostly with old cars and discarded pieces of metal and machinery. There were piles of junk as far as the eye could see.

"Your man lives here?" Andy asked.

"Man isn't quite the right word," Adam said as they walked past the piles of junk all around the place. "He goes to our school, but he mainly hangs out in the metal shop. Juston, are you here?"

The sound of loud 80's hair metal music was heard, along with the sound of a band saw. As they got closer, a teenage boy with long stringy brown hair lifted his head from his latest project. He was wearing a red and black flannel shirt with a black AC/DC t-shirt underneath. He lifted the safety goggles off of his eyes as he saw the three young men approaching.

"Hey, Tin Man!" Juston shouted as he rushed over and hugged Adam, patting him on the back.

"Tin Man?" Franklin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's just a nickname," Adam said. "He calls me Tin Man and I call him Scarecrow. It's a long story, we'll tell you about it sometime."

"What does that make you?" Andy asked as he looked at Franklin.

"Probably the Wizard since this shenanigan is all my idea, Cowardly Lion," Franklin told him.

"Aw, man," Andy whispered as he stared down at his shoes. "Well, it beats being a munchkin."

"Juston, my boys here need some help with a trip they're going on," Adam explained. "They could use a tech genius on board."

"I don't know, I'm kind of in the middle of some things," Juston replied. "Right now I'm turning a microwave oven into a high powered laser rifle, then I'm going to test it out on a toaster strudel, see if I can't cook it in under ten seconds. I don't know if I have time for a road trip. Where you going, cross country?"

"Interdimensional field trip," Franklin said. "We're going way out on this one. It might be an end of the world situation, we don't know yet."

"End of the world? Why does the end of the world always happen in New York?" Juston asked them as he sighed. "So, who's leading the charge on this little mission? Must be a big time hero if you're hopping dimensions."

Franklin stared down at the ground, Andy nervously tugged at his collar, and Adam coughed nervously.

"Seriously?" Juston asked with a loud laugh. "Four teenage boys with no powers, no training, and no clue what they're doing are going to go across the universe to stop a possible world eating evil entity?"

"My robot's going, too," Franklin said matter-of-factly.

"I don't think so, guys," Juston said as he pulled his goggles down over his eyes. "Sorry, not really interested in the whole suicide mission thing."

"Come on, Juston," Adam said, talking so the others couldn't hear him. "I really like these guys. I don't want to see them get killed. I finally have a chance to make some real friends in this town besides you."

"Do they know that you're, you know, not a real boy?" Juston asked.

"No, and I kind of want to keep that under wraps," Adam said. "I don't want them looking at me like a freak like everyone else who knows about me does. For the first time since my dad died, I feel like I can have a normal life."

"Adam, you're not a freak, you're special," Juston reminded him. "I'm glad you let me in who you really are, even if it was just for the free upgrades to your system."

"So, are you in?" Adam asked.

"I guess so, for you," Juston told him as he looked over Adam's shoulder. "Where'd they go?"

As Franklin and Andy looked around the junkyard, a pair of glowing eyes was watching them from within a pile of junk, designed to hide a secret from all trespassers. As soon as Franklin got into its sight, a blinking light went off inside its head.

 _MUTANT DETECTED_

 _Directives:_

 _Engage_

 _Detain_

 _Destroy_

"You think we stand a chance of actually pulling this off?" Andy asked as he walked alongside Franklin. "I mean, what if we do find something dangerous?"

"Something dangerous could be coming towards us, regardless," Franklin said. "I'm not just going to sit back and wait for something to come to us. If there's even the smallest chance of stopping whatever it is, I'm taking it. Heroes don't back down, Andy."

"But I'm not a hero," Andy said as he stared down at the ground. "I'm just a 98 lb. weakling. Hell, I don't even have a hot date tonight. I was just trying to impress you. You seem so cool, getting to hang out with the Fantastic 4 and going on all those adventures. You'd probably never look twice at a paperboy from the poor part of town."

"Andy, you don't have to impress me," Franklin said as he put an arm around Andy's shoulder. "I like you, okay? I want us to be friends, no matter how this adventure goes."

"Even if we end up getting killed?" Andy asked.

"When we get to heaven, we'll double date with the girls from Poltergeist, and shoot spit balls down at Justin Bieber when he gets to Hell," Franklin smiled as a rumbling was heard from behind them. The pile of metal started shaking as the 20 foot form of a Sentinel rose up.

"HALT MUTANT!" the Sentinel shouted as it held its arm forward, charging up a laser blast in its hand, firing a large charge of energy at the two boys.

TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. Chapter 3

_Franklin Richards, the teenage son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, is ready to step out of the shadows of the Fantastic Four and become a hero in his own right. When the Baxter Building's A.I. unit, H.E.R.B.I.E., discovers that a powerful force is destroying other worlds in the multiverse, and with no other heroes willing to investigate, Franklin decides to gather a group of heroes on his own to go with him on a dangerous journey._

 _Unfortunately the only people willing to go are the local paperboy, a teenage robot, and a tech genius who hangs around in a junkyard, who just happens to be harboring a Sentinel that now wants Franklin dead for being a mutant..._

* * *

#3 - "WHERE NO BOY HAS EVER GONE BEFORE"

Written by Tobias Christopher

* * *

"HALT, MUTANT!" the Sentinel ordered as it held its hand forward and fired a powerful blast of energy at Andy and Franklin. Franklin shoved Andy out of the way of the blast, falling forward into the dirt. Just as he was about to be hit, an old Chrysler landed in front of the boy, taking the force of the blast.

"Don't just sit there like a speed bump, move!" Adam shouted as he stood on top of a pile of old rusted cars. He picked up a bumper and tossed it at the Sentinel's head. "Hey, ugly, over here!"

The Sentinel turned its head and scanned Adam.

 _Artificial life form  
Analysis: Poses no threat_

"No threat detected," the Sentinel said as it turned its attention back toward Franklin.

"What did you just say?" Adam said, feeling offended. "You big bucket of bolts, I'll show you who's the threat!"

Adam picked up another car, tossing it at the Sentinel's head as it tried to attack Franklin again. This time, Andy grabbed Franklin's arm and pulled him out of the line of fire.

"Wait! Stop!" Juston shouted as he pulled out a remote. "Command override! Do not harm the mutant!"

"Mutant must be destroyed, command cannot be overridden," the Sentinel said as it reached out to grab Franklin.

"Give me that!" Adam said as he grabbed Juston's remote. "Can't believe you still have this thing. You'd think yours truly would be awesome enough to play with."

Adam opened up the back of the remote and pulled back a small door on his right wrist, pulling out two wires. He plugged them into the remote and pressed a few buttons. As the Sentinel was about to grab Franklin, it suddenly stopped and pulled back.

"Okay," Franklin said as he shrugged his shoulders as he took another step back, which was the Sentinel started doing the Hustle, pointing its finger to the sky and towards its hip again. "Wow. What the fu-"

"Seriously?" Juston asked as he looked at Adam. "You're making him look like an idiot!"

"Oh, come on, you know that's funny," Adam said as he punched another button as the Sentinel shut down, lowering its head. He shoved the remote back into Juston's hands as he rushed toward his friends. "You two okay?"

"That... was... awesome!" Andy shouted as he looked at Franklin. "High five for stayin' alive!"

"That was actually the Hustle, totally different disco song, but whatever," Adam told them. "I think since Juston tried to kill you, he kind of owes you a favor now."

"I'll buy you dinner," Juston deadpanned as he approached them. "There is no way that I am going-"

"To another dimension!" Juston shouted as he woke up an hour later in the middle of Reed Richard's lab. "You knocked me out, didn't you?"

Andy just looked up at the sky and whistled innocently as he tossed a broken piece of board away. Juston stood up and looked around, taking in the sights.

"Are you kidding me!?" H.E.R.B.I.E. shouted as he floated into the lab. "There's four of you now? What are you, Gremlins? Do you multiply when you get wet?"

"Wow, another robot," Adam said in a flat tone. "Hopefully one that won't try to kill us this time."

"Don't hold me to that," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he looked at Franklin. "This madness ends now. Tell your friends to go home, because... where are you going?"

"To get us some suits," Franklin replied as he headed toward Johnny's room. "We can't go on an mission without the proper attire. I think Uncle Johnny keeps some of his old suits from when he was younger in his walk-in closet."

"Your Uncle has a walk-in closet?" Juston asked.

"Just a small one," Franklin replied as the others followed him. They got to his room and opened the closet door, revealing a very large closet with clothes racks that were at least a half a mile long. "We might need to use the golf cart to go through it, we're kind of in a hurry."

Shortly, Franklin came out of Johnny's closet wearing a black and blue FF costume; Adam had the red and white FF suit; Juston was wearing the blue and white suit; and Andy was wearing the black and grey suit.

"These are kind of form fitting," Andy said as he looked down. "Wow, you can see my... cell phone through my pants."

"They're made of unstable molecules," Franklin told them as they headed back toward the lab. "They'll give us some degree of protection out there, where ever 'there' is."

Franklin pushed the button to open the door to the lab, but nothing happened. "What the- Why isn't it opening?"

"Maybe because I changed the access code," H.E.R.B.I.E. told them. "And there's no way you're to guess what I changed it to because-"

"Got it," Juston said as he pushed two buttons, opening the door as the group walked in.

"Your father isn't going to like this," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as Franklin started working on the dimensional portal. "He's going to dismantle me and send you to military school!"

"Franklin Richards at a military school?" Franklin asked as he thought about it. "Sounds like a bad fanfic waiting to happen."

"Maybe when we get back," Andy told him. "It'll break up the monotony of writing Human Torch and Iceman slash fics," Andy said as everyone in the group just stared in his direction. "DON'T JUDGE ME!"

"I- I'm not even sure I want to do this anymore after hearing that," Franklin said quietly as Juston sighed.

"Push the button, Frank," Juston told him, shaking his head as Franklin turned onto the portal. The four teens just stared ahead into the void ahead of them.

"You coming, H.E.R.B.I.E.?" Franklin asked.

"Someone has to keep you out of trouble," the robot said as he followed. "And possibly carry your mutilated corpse back after you inevitably die horribly."

The group stepped through the portal, wondering where they would end up.

 _45 Minutes Later_

"Okay, I think if no one's realized it by now," Franklin said as the group was standing in a one long, continuous moving line that was planet wide. "This dimension is just one huge DMV line."

"What's weirder is that this line moves faster than an actual DMV line," Juston told them. "And is weird that I haven't seen a single car since we've been standing here?"

Andy looked down at the ticket he had grabbed from the ticket kiosk upon landing. "Well, we're #919,192,912,371,437," he said as he looked up at a floating clock that read 8. "Hey, I think we're close!"

"Maybe we should try a different world," Franklin said as he looked at the counter, which wasn't too far away from them.

"#9!" the alien at the counter said as the next customer approached and put his ticket down. The alien behind the counter pulled a chain as the customer fell into a fiery pit. "#10!"

"We're out of here," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as the portal opened as the group ran through.

"Okay, this place looks normal," Adam said as they arrived on what looked like an empty street. "No signs of life, though."

"I think I see a car coming," Andy said as he pointed toward a small car that was driving toward them. It came to a stop, and after a few moments, a clown stepped out, followed by another. Then more clowns started coming out.

"I think we're in a reality where clowns are the dominant species," Juston said as he looked up at the windows of a building, where he saw several clowns waving at him. "That's not creepy at all."

"Well, at least it beats standing in line, right Andy?" Adam asked as he saw Andy was frozen in fear. "Andy?"

"Hmm... frozen in fear, can't speak, a trail of urine running down his leg," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he scanned Alpha with a bio-sensor on his chest. "He's got coulrophobia. The fear of clowns."

"Not exactly the kind of person who should be on a planet where everyone's a clown," Franklin sighed as clown suddenly popped up in front of Andy. This one just happened to look like Pennywise the clown.

"Would you like a balloon, little boy?" the clown asked. "They float."

Andy just blinked once before letting out an ear piercing shriek loud enough to shatter the window behind him.

"I think we should try another dimension," Franklin said, rubbing his ear in pain.

"I'm getting queasy!" Juston shouted as he bounced back up against his will. "I hate this world!"

"Are you kidding? I'm having the time of my life!" Andy shouted as he bounced around. "A dimension where the whole world is one big bounce house is awesome!"

"I just hate that we had to leave our boots at the door of the clown dimension," Franklin said as he tried to stay level while everyone else was moving around. "What if they make off with them? Lousy bounce house world and their stupid rules."

"Oh, relax," Adam said as he walked around with no problem whatsoever.

"How the hell are you doing that?" Franklin asked.

"Hey, like a prostitute, a magician never gives away his tricks," Adam replied as H.E.R.B.I.E. floated next to Franklin.

"Are we any closer to finding this thing that's killing worlds?" the robot asked.

"The energy trail is getting stronger," Franklin replied. "We're very close. The next world should be it."

"I hope so," H.E.R.B.I.E. told him. "Remember, we go in, we collect the data, we get out. No monkey business, got it? This is strictly an intel mission."

"Andy, grab our boots from the clown world while I open the door to the next world," Franklin told him.

"M-me?" Andy asked nervously.

"Just reach through and grab them," Franklin said as the door opened and the others walked through. "We'll meet you on the other side."

Andy just gulped as he looked at the door to the clown dimension.

The next world had been completely devastated, with no traces of life left except for the trio of brothers who were just finishing their work.

"Yet another world that poses no challenge," A sighed as he looked around at the carnage. Not a building was left standing, fires had spread everywhere, and charred skeletons were all around. "I'm beginning to think that we'll never find anyone worthy of us."

"I'm sure that someone in some world will challenge us, brother," B said. "In the meantime, we'll just keep searching until we find such a world."

It was then that the portal opened, with Franklin and the others coming through.

"Huh, this must be the dimension of After Earth. And by that, I mean a dimension where everyone was forced to watch the Will Smith abortion 'After Earth'," Juston said as he looked around.

"Whatever's killing worlds was here," Franklin told them.

"Correction, they are here," Adam replied as he pointed forward.

"Where's Andy with our boots? We can't fight like this," Franklin said as he looked down at his stocking feet.

"We're not fighting," H.E.R.B.I.E. said. "We're collecting information. If we're quiet, they might not even notice us. Just as he said that, Andy ran shrieking through the portal.

"The clown touched me! Quick, cut off my hand before I get infected!" Andy shouted as he jumped into Adam's arms. The three brothers turned their heads at the sound of the noise.

"... Well," Juston said as he tried to find the right word to sum up the situation. "Shit."

"It looks as if we've missed some lifeforms," B said as he held his staff forward.

"No, these lifeforms are not of this world," A told him. "These creatures are alien to this world."

"So? Let's just kill them and be on our way," C said as he floated forward. "They shouldn't be that much trouble to us."

Just as C said that, a large slab of debris hit the brothers, knocking them onto their backs. Adam dusted his hands off and smirked.

"And that's the end of that chapter," Adam said.

"You watch a lot of Simpsons, don't you?" Franklin asked. "I mean, it's cool, and I quite it myself, but I don't think that those guys are-"

The debris exploded as the brothers began to rise up with their staffs in hand.

"Okay, field trip's over!" H.E.R.B.I.E. shouted. "Everyone back into the portal, we're going home!"

"He's right, we can't fight this," Franklin replied as he looked at his friends. "We need to get my dad and the others and tell him about this while we can."

"Last one back to Earth has to smell the Hulk's jock strap!" Andy said as the group headed to the portal, which was blocked off by a large wall of debris.

"Okay, that's bad," Franklin said. "H.E.R.B.I.E., defense mode!"

"Defense what?" the robot asked as A's staff struck him right through the chest.

"NO!" Franklin shouted as A tossed the deactivated robot to the side. Juston and Adam rushed to get Franklin, but B waved his staff, sending an energy wave at them to toss them a good twenty feet backward into a collapsed wall.

"I'll make your death quick, and maybe a little painful," A said as he grabbed Franklin by the throat, lifting him up into the air as the boy started kicking.

"Leave him alone!" Andy shouted as C held his staff forward, lifting Andy into the air with its power. C just smirked as he tossed Andy high into the stratosphere, disappearing into the darkness of the night.

"Pathetic," B said as he headed toward A. "Finish him and let's go."

"No," A said as he stared at Franklin, sensing something within him. "It's him. It's the Fourth. I can sense his power."

"It can't be, he hasn't even tried to defend himself against us," C told them. "He has no powers."

"Because they're being blocked by something," A said as he looked at the boy. "Someone has tampered with his powers. But that's easily fixed."

A phased his hand into Franklin's head as the boy screamed in pain.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**


End file.
